Anxiety Disorders

Every year, nearly one in ten Americans could be diagnosed with an anxiety disoder. There are several different ways in which anxiety and worry can manifest in a person’s life. A brief description of each some of the ways are given below:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder – is characterized by pervasive and exaggerated worries or fearfulness, often for unknown reasons. Often it is accompanied by physical symptoms, such as sleeplessness, muscle tension, sweating, and headaches.

Social Anxiety Disorder – is characterized by high anxiety in social situations such as public speaking, being in new groups, or talking to strangers. Either these situations are avoided or are endured with great anxiety.

Panic Disorder – involves sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme anxiety. People experiencing such an attack often believe they are dying and may report dizziness, shortness of breath, a pounding heart, sweating, chills or hot flashes, trembling, and nausea.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – is a response to a horrifying or life-threatening event, such as being assaulted, involved in an accident, or experiencing combat. The person may exhibit a variety of anxiety symptoms, includng insomnia, flashbacks, hyperarousal, difficulty concentrating, and emotional numbness.

Phobias – are irrational fears of specific objects, persons, or situations. They are so anxiety provoking that a person with a phobia will go to great lengths to avoid what they fear. Common phobias are in respect to other people (public speaking, shopping), situations (heights, small spaces, flying, etc.), or animals (dogs, spiders, etc.).